Headlight



` l, July 5, 1927. w. R. DU BREUIL 635116 HEADLIGHT Filed Jan. 9, 192517 f (aiu,

Tamil Patented July 5 1927.

UNITED STATES `w'iur'rnitn n. nu nunon., or nLmHUBsn'ILLINoIs.

BEADLIGHT.

Applicatiomled January 9, 1935.` Serial No. 1,474.

. My said invention relates to an improvement in headlights preferablyfor use on automobiles and other vehicles.

Heretofore automobile headlights have been so constructed that it hasbeen necessary to provide some means of dilusing and breaking up therays of light in an attempt to prevent the. impairment of the sight ofthe driver of an approaching. vehicle, however, the di'usedlight isstill blindin and obviously the provision of such di using meansprevented the proper rojection of the light to most eiiicientlyiluminate the roadway. g Y

lt is an object of my invention to provide a headlight having anelectric light bulb 'with' a shield or hood therein, positloned directlyabove thelilament and having rear end and side portions extendingdownwardly around the same slightly below the horizontal plane of thelighting iilament, Asaidl rear portion being curved and Serving asaretlector to project the light forwardly. rlhe forwardly extendingortion of Vsaid shield prevents `the projects Ylight romextendin .abovea horizontal plane but permits te light to project substantially .insuch plane or very slightly below the same. Another object of theinvention is to provide a li ht which will-more efficiently light theroa way by highly concentratingthe light and projecting the same in anarrow shaft or beam instead of diusing and absorbing the said light.

A further object of the invention is to provide alightof reduced sizehaving a reilecting surface ofa short vertical height and a relativelyshort shield or shade extending therefrom abovethe light thus eliminating a relatively long shade or shield for the light and obviatingthe necessity oi the conventional redactor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide supporting meansfor the light ywhich will permit. al plurality of adjustments. l

A yet further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described which consists of few parts and is simplel andinexpensive to manufacture.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are''made 'a part hereoieand on which similar reference `characters indicate simi lar parts;

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my invention,

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of the electric light bulb,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the electric light bulb,

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure 3, v

Figure 5 ris a longitudinal horizontal section of the electric lightbulb, and

Figure 6 isa section on the line 6*-6 of 'Figure 3.

Figures 7 and 8 are detail views illustrating the different effects oflight filaments disposed at varying distances from the re lectingsurfaces.

In thev drawings, the invention comprises an electric light bulblfsupported' in a socket 11 of a casing 12 mounted by means of a balland socket or other adjustable means one supporting bracket 13 attachedto the automobile. A lens or cover 14 for the bulb is provided having anexternal annular Bange 15 at its rear end adapted to be engaged by anannular (or plurality of segmental)V clamping element 16 secured in anydesired manner to the casing 12. The cover or casing 14 is preferablyconstructed of glass and may have its upper half frosted or .otherwiserendered translucent. The socket 11 in the 'casing 12 is preierablyofthe usual construction and a signal light 17 also of the usualconstruction may be suspended in the upper section of the casingadjacent the top thereof.

The electric light bulb constituting the essential feature of myinventioncomprises a tubularglass casing of a conventional typesupported upon 'a base also of the usual construction. lhe bulb isconstructed with a filament 18 extending substantially diametrically andtransversely through the same and is provided with a hood or shade 19and is supported adjacent its front dared portion by means of a pair ofspring clamps 20 preferably arcuate in shape and secured at the oppositesides of the shade. Obvious- 1y the method of supporting the shadeadjacent its front end may be varied and the spring clamps may bedispensed with and the shield supported between spaced indes1 tations inthe glass tube.

It has been found impractical to .provide a bulb of sufiiciently smallsize to be placed close enough to the reflector as the casing for thefilament will readily melt, so that the light from the filament of thebulbs in present use is thrown downwardly directly upon the ground or isprojected upwardly beyond a substantially horizontal plane. have foundthat by providing theshield for the light inside the bulb and curving.said

shield rearwardly and closely around the filament that it is unnecesaryto have a reflector Abehind the light other than that formed by theshield and that it is also unnecessary to provide a shield of very greatlength since the' shield and the light are in substantially the sameplane and a long shield is unnecessary. To permit the escape of heataround the filament l preferably provide a vent formed by cutting awayor striking up a portion of the shield directly above the lament. In thecase of the struck-up portion the same will serve as a refiector toillumine the upper portion of the bulb. It will be observed that thelower rim of the shield denes a substantially horizon'tal plane and thatthe lament of the light is slightly above said plane.

An essential feature of my invention is 'that the source of light shallbe so related to the reiiecting surface above and in front of it as tothrow the light in a flat beam close toV said surface whereby the bulkof the light will be thrown forward and will strike the ground at 'aconsiderable distance from the source of light. For this purpose theactual filament in an electric light should be close to said surface andthis way be taken care` of by a dat or linear filament with a refiectingsurface inside the bulb, as in Figures l to 6 of the drawings. Thisfunction may also be attained in other ways as by arranging one or moresmall bulbs with or without small reflectors underneath a reflectingsurface which is approximately horizontal, or in place of bulbs othermeans such as are known to those skilled in the art may be used, e. g.,prisms to throw a fiat beam of light against a reflecting surface suchas is shown in the drawings. It will be understood that in all thesearrangements the source of light is to behidden from any eye above thelevel of said source, and that th fiat narrow source renders it easy toconceal without either locating the reflecting surface at so steep anangie as to throw all the light on the ground too close to the vehiclefor safety, or, what is equally objectionable, making the hood so longas to be awkward and objectionable. i It is desirable to arrange thevreflecting surface at the rear so as to throw the rays of light forwardparallel tothe upper reflecting surface as will be understood by thoseskilled. in the art, so that such rays .will extend far forward insteadof being reflected down to the ground close to the vehicle. j

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate the advantage had by placing the filament orother source of light close to the refiecting surface.

When such source, whether it is a lineary filament in a horizontalplane, a coiled or bent wire filament lying in a horizontal plane, or asmall bulb or vother equivalent source, is arranged as illustrated inFigure 7, close to a nearly horizontal refiecting surf face, the bulk ofthe light is thrown forward to a considerable distance, whereas when thesource is located relatively far from the upper reflecting surface vasin Fig ure 8, the upper refiecting surface or a hood or casing therefor)must extend own over Y it to prevent it from rising aboveu a horizontalplane, and therefore the refiecting surface must be at a relatively'steep angle asin Figure 8 or else the hood must extend fary forward. Inthe first case the light is thrown down too near to the vehicle forvsafety and in the second case the hood has an awkward appearance andismore or less in the way.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the y art that changes may bemade in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention andtherefore I do not limit myself to the precise construction shown 1n,

the drawin s and described in the specification but on y claims.

Whatl claim is: 1. In a headlight for automobiles a source of lighthaving means associated therewith for causing a flat beam or shaft ofconcentrated light relatively wide from side to side and narrow from topto bottom to be projected, and a reflecting surface arranged at a slightangle to the line of said beam to project the bulk of the light forwardat a relatively slight angle to a horizontalplane, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination in an incandescent lamp of a transversely disposedfilament, and a refiecting shield for said filament comprising an.elongated body adapted to be mounted longitudinally of the lamp withthe rear extremity of said body curved downwardly around and closelyadjacent said filament whereb the light will be project-ed forwardly anin a substantiall dat horizontal plane, substantially as set erth.

as indicated in the appended 3. The combination in an incandescent lampof a transversely disposed filament, a reflecting shield for saidfilament comprising an elongated body adapted to be mountedlongitudinally of the lamp with the rear extremity of said body curveddownwardly around and closely adjacent said filament whereby the lightwill be projected forwardly and in a substantially flat horizontalplane, and means for supporting the forward portion of said shield,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in an incandescent lamp of a transversely 'disposedfilament, a reflecting shield for said filament comprising `an elongatedbody adapted to be mounted longitudinally of' the lamp withv the reareX- tremity of said body curved downwardly around and closely adjacentsaid filament whereby the light Will be projected forwardly and in asubstantially fiat horizontal plane the side of' said shield beingcurveddownwardly anditerminating in a substantiall horizontal plane,substantially as set fortii.

5. The combination in an incandescent lamp of a'transversely disposedlil-aillent, a' reecting shield for said filament comprising an,elongated bod adapted to be mounted longitudinally7 of the lamp with therear extremity of said body curved downwardly around and closelyadjacent said filament whereby the light will be projected forwardly andin a substantially fiat I6 horizontal plane said shield tapering fromvrefiectinot shield for said ed longitudinally of the lamp with the rearY extremity of said body curved downwardly around and closely adjacentsaid filament whereby the light willv be projected forwardly and in asubstantially flat horizontal plane, a tube-like casing for said shieldand filament, and resilient means engaging the edges of the shield andcasing adjacent the forward portions thereof for supportinrf the shieldin position, substantially as set forth.

7. The' combination in an incandescent lamp of a transversely dis osedIfilament, a reflecting shield for said llament comprising an elongatedbody adapted to be mounted longitudinally of the lamp with the rearextremity of' said body curved downwardly around and closely adjacentsaid filament whereby the light will be projectedv forwardly and in asubstantially flat horizontal plane said shield being provided with aVentilating passage therethrough adjacent the filament, substantially asset forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at lVashington, Districtof C0- lumbia, this 8th Vday of' January, A. D. nineteen hundred andtwenty-five.

WINFIELD R. DU BREUIL.

